2013 a record year for tourism spending in NC

Published: Thursday, May 8, 2014 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, May 7, 2014 at 6:33 p.m.

RALEIGH — The North Carolina tourism industry generated record visitor spending in 2013, Gov. Pat McCrory announced Wednesday in a news release. The $20.2 billion in domestic visitor spending represents a 4.1 percent increase over 2012.

“The growth of our tourism industry gives us a lot to celebrate,” McCrory said in the release. “We attracted 52.5 million travelers from across the United States last year because of our great tourist destinations. The money they spent while visiting our mountains, beaches, cities and places in between directly supported nearly 200,000 jobs and more than 40,000 businesses. We can be proud that the quality of North Carolina’s travel experiences makes us the sixth most-visited state in the nation.”

McCrory, who proclaimed May 3-11, 2014 as Tourism Week in North Carolina, will discuss the new figures from the U.S. Travel Association at a news conference today.

Preliminary results from the study show that direct tourism employment grew 2.1 percent and that state tax receipts as a result of visitor spending rose 4 percent to top $1 billion, according to the release. Visitors spent more than $55 million per day in North Carolina last year and contributed more than $4.4 million per day in state and local tax revenues as a result of that spending.

Tourism Week in North Carolina is part of National Travel & Tourism Week, which also runs May 3-11. The state’s nine Welcome Centers will host activities throughout the week.

<p>RALEIGH — The North Carolina tourism industry generated record visitor spending in 2013, Gov. Pat McCrory announced Wednesday in a news release. The $20.2 billion in domestic visitor spending represents a 4.1 percent increase over 2012. </p><p>“The growth of our tourism industry gives us a lot to celebrate,” McCrory said in the release. “We attracted 52.5 million travelers from across the United States last year because of our great tourist destinations. The money they spent while visiting our mountains, beaches, cities and places in between directly supported nearly 200,000 jobs and more than 40,000 businesses. We can be proud that the quality of North Carolina's travel experiences makes us the sixth most-visited state in the nation.”</p><p>McCrory, who proclaimed May 3-11, 2014 as Tourism Week in North Carolina, will discuss the new figures from the U.S. Travel Association at a news conference today. </p><p>Preliminary results from the study show that direct tourism employment grew 2.1 percent and that state tax receipts as a result of visitor spending rose 4 percent to top $1 billion, according to the release. Visitors spent more than $55 million per day in North Carolina last year and contributed more than $4.4 million per day in state and local tax revenues as a result of that spending. </p><p>Tourism Week in North Carolina is part of National Travel & Tourism Week, which also runs May 3-11. The state's nine Welcome Centers will host activities throughout the week.</p>